ToS : Filling the Void
by ThunderStrike
Summary: Right, just finished ToS for the third time, with Presea as soulmate. Got a little more emotionally attached to Lady P than I was expecting, and was moved to write. This story continues from the ending I got, and finds Lloyd and Presea some years on.


The light of day spilled into the antechamber as the huge stone slab that served as a door was forced open. It swung slowly on its hinges and came to rest against the wall with a resonant thud, and two people stepped over its threshold. The first, a male in his early twenties and dressed in red, reached out to the nearest wall, brushed it with his fingers and regarded the dust motes spiralling to the ground. He turned, smiling to his companion, a pink haired female seemingly in her late teens, wearing an armless, knee length navy dress with a high collar.

"Well, looks like you were right about this place, huh?" said Lloyd. Presea scanned the room for a moment longer before turning her head to look at him.

"Wahoo."

The chamber stretched out for about twenty meters before culminating at a door considerably more impressive than the one they had entered via. A set of double doors stood sentinel, the precious metals used in its construction reflecting the light despite the layers of powdery residue that had built up over time. What appeared to be script covered both doors, mostly obscured by the dust.

Mostly. Where the doors joined, most of the dust had been brushed away, with one or two handprints visible.

"It appears we are not the first." Said Presea as she stepped further in, past Lloyd who was staring at the floor. "Yeah," replied Lloyd. "Look at the floor."

She did so, and saw that the main track of the chamber had been almost swept clear of dust by the shuffling of many feet. She turned to face him.

"I would say a large group passed through here recently. Between five and ten, in one trip. There are some rectangular markings that indicate they were carrying something, probably a chest, and it was heavy and they had to rest." Lloyd tried to look serious for a moment, and then he broke helplessly into a grin.

"I knew that." He said, as Presea began to match his expression and shake her head slightly. She turned and started down the corridor, and he stepped to keep pace.

"I did! And _furthermore,_ I don't think they were here for the archaeology." Presea turned her head, still walking, far enough to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Well, I may only know one archaeology enthusiast, but she wouldn't have gotten more than a foot into this room without stopping to drool all over these wall murals, let alone barging right on through. She'd probably want us to catch all this dust in a jar for keeping." He said, gesturing at said wall murals. Presea laughed briefly, despite herself. They reached the double doors. She turned and looked at Lloyd. "Lloyd, I believe this is the group we have been looking for."

"Yeah, I agree. All those exspheres…"

"We will stop them."

"You're right. Ready?" Lloyd held his hands out to her, palms up. She nodded to him, and they started on the ritual they had developed in the years they had been travelling together. Presea took his gloved hands and began checking tightening all the straps and buckles of his outfit and equipment, the heavy red leather overcoat that served as his armour since Dirk made it for him as a child. It had undergone countless refits as he had grown, but he'd always insisted that the material of the old coat be made into the new one. He winced slightly as Presea found the slack on his sword belts not to her liking, and took them in a notch. She checked his bracers and boot buckles, and was satisfied.

She stepped back and held her own hands out, palms upward. He checked the metal plates riveted to her gloves and boots, made sure the strap securing her axe, the Gaia Cleaver, to her back was fastened properly and wouldn't snag or get hung up if she needed it. Finally he checked her belt and the small knife scabbard attached to it, and stepped back.

"You want the coat?" Lloyd asked. She thought about it for a second.

"I think so, yes." He retrieved the item in question from his satchel and unrolled it while Presea unslung her axe and the carrying strap. Lloyd held it by the shoulders and she turned and put her arms into the sleeves and shrugged it on. It had been a gift, made with Dirk's help and given it to her when they started off on their quest to track down all the remaining exspheres.

The same colour as the rest of her outfit, it was of a similar style to Lloyds, Dirk not being a fashion designer by trade. The fabric was light but strong, and was actually interwoven and over woven with a chain mail mesh, and padded inside for comfort. It was indistinguishable from a normal coat, and tough as hell. She fastened the buttons and re-slung the Cleaver, brushing her twin bunches of pink hair to the side. Lloyd closed the satchel as Presea turned to him, stretched her arms out to the sides and cocked her head to the side in mock curiosity.

"Cute?" She asked. Lloyd beamed and delivered the accepted response.

"Cute."

Presea smiled back at him, a sight which never failed to elate him. Such a simple thing, a smile, but if they had never met in Meltokio, the expression might never have been seen on her features. They stepped forward, each put a hand on one of the doors, and pushed. Lloyd grimaced as the door offered more resistance than he expected. Presea was having an easier time as the stronger of the two, so he waited for a gap to open, then gripped the edge of the door with his free hand and doubled his efforts. Eventually it swung open, and as he peered at the cross section he wasn't surprised it had taken so much of his strength, it being solid metal and nearly a foot thick to boot.

As the sunlight entered, it was caught by a large mirror at the end of the area they had entered, and bounced around the room by a series of smaller mirrors, providing ample lighting. They were at the top of a set of stairs leading into a very large square room. In the middle was a large object, around three times Lloyd's height and covered by a tarpaulin. A square of stone pillars roughly a quarter of the way in from the walls stretched up a storey, supporting a balcony reachable by a flight of stone stairs on either side of the central object. Lloyd let out the breath he'd been holding.

"I don't know whether to glad or sad that Raine isn't here."

"Lloyd, I am… uneasy here." said Presea. They looked at each other, and he could see her anxiety.

"Are you okay? Do you know what it is?" He reached out and put a hand on here shoulder. Presea had always been sensitive to bad omens, and Lloyd had long since learned to take heed.

"No, but we should proceed. I do not wish to spend any great length of time here. Let's complete our mission."

Lloyd nodded and they walked down the stairs and across to the covered object. The air in the room felt thicker, and a low humming became audible as they closed in.

"Man, I've got a bad feeling about this…" Lloyd had moved one hand to the hilt of his left sword, and Presea, very pointedly and controlled, reached for her axe.

"You can talk," she said.

**To be continued, rest assured!**


End file.
